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Sowbugs and Pillbugs
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Look like tiny armadillos -
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Summary: Normally these small land
crustaceans don't harm anything in the garden.
Only occasionally will high numbers cause damage to seedlings.
Sowbugs/pillbugs can also sometimes enter
homes to escape saturated soil or in search of
water when it is dry. They cause no damage in homes.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist (ret.)
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Sowbugs, pillbug,
woodlice identification
Sowbugs, pillbugs,
or woodlice [more pictures] are small land
crustaceans, actually related to shrimp,
that are common in gardens. They are roughly 1/4"
long, gray to brown in color, have many pairs of
legs and a segmented body, and are often found in
groups under rocks or debris where the soil is damp.
Pillbugs roll into a ball when disturbed, sowbugs do
not roll up this way but otherwise the two are very
similar.
Sowbugs and pillbugs
normally don't harm garden plants. They feed mostly
on dead organic debris but occasionally may damage
young garden seedlings. Two situations occur that
cause gardeners and homeowners some concern.
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Sowbugs and
pillbugs are found in moist habitats
under rocks and debris. Photo by E.
DeAngelis.
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Cleaner,
Safer,
Botanical Pesticides For Home And Garden
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Sometimes tender, young
garden seedlings are damaged, the damage is similar to
slug damage. This plant damage only occurs when
very high populations of these critters are allowed to
develop and when very young plants are present. Plant
injury is pretty rare and can usually be easily
managed.
The second way sowbugs
and pillbugs cause problems is when they enter houses
following rains when outside soils become saturated,
or in search of water when it is extremely dry
outside. Sowbugs found indoors, however, won't cause
any damage and can be simply swept up.
other common names:
woodlice (wood louse), lawn shrimp, rollie-pollie
(pillbug), rolly-polly, tumblebug, doodlebug
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Control
In one sense high numbers
of these critters is really a good thing-- it means
that your garden soils are rich in organic matter
and healthy. You can reduce the populations, however,
by reducing the amount of organic matter, such as
compost, that you add to the garden and by cutting
back on the frequency of watering. If the soil
is allowed to go through natural dry/wet cycle sowbug
and pillbug numbers will be reduced.
Gardeners can use diatomaceous
earth (see Using
Diatomaceous Earth for Pest Control) to manage
sowbug and pillbug damage to young seedlings. Place a
thin layer of this natural product directly over the
seed bed. There is also a new formulation of Sluggo slug
bait that contains spinosad, a natural
insecticide that can be used to safely manage earwigs
and sowbugs/pillbugs in the garden (see Using
Slug Baits).
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Mission: To
provide accurate, up-to-date and unbiased information
for solving common insect and mite problems around
your home, business and landscape using least-toxic
methods.
Jack DeAngelis,
Ph.D.
Please see the Disclaimer statements as
well.
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